WASHINGTON, July 8: The United States and one of its key Asia-Pacific allies, Australia, have agreed to develop a controversial missile defence shield to deter and protect against countries having access to ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction.

Canberra also agreed to allow the United States to have a key military training center in Australia following annual talks between their foreign and defence ministers in Washington.

A memorandum of understanding to develop a system to defend the two countries from missile attacks was signed on Wednesday by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his Australian counterpart Robert Hill.

Mr Rumsfeld told reporters that its goal was "to help ensure that our nations are able to deter and defend against countries that have access to ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction."

He did not identify the countries but a joint communique at the end of the talks underlined the need to rein in North Korea and Iran, which have been persistently accused of developing nuclear weapons.

"Both the US and Australia share deep concerns about the proliferation of ballistic missiles capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction - nuclear, chemical and biological," said a US statement issued after the signing.

The 25-year agreement signed on Wednesday will include Australia as a participating country in the US missile defence programme as well as development and testing of advanced radar technology capable of providing improved early detection of ballistic missiles after launch. -AFP